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I am going to share today something that I have not shared with very many others in my entire life!

Before you get all excited and think it is something super juicy- it isn't, but it is embarrassing.

For years I have been embarrassed by sweat soaked armpits. Sure, everyone sweats once in awhile and may have an embarrassing odor or stain when they lift their arms, but no matter what deodorant I used, what I was wearing, or what the temperature was, I would sweat like it was 110 degrees outside! It could be in the middle of winter and my teeth would be chattering but my pits would be Niagara Falls!

It started in sixth grade and got progressively worse. I vividly remember sitting in class and feeling the sweat run down my side. From that time on I have sweat through shirts, sweaters, and even coats! I have had to bring changes of shirts with me in the car because by the time I got to my destination my first shirt would be sweat soaked. I would stuff Kleenex under my arms to bl…

This past weekend I got up at my normal time on Saturday and told the kids I was going to “work”.I attended a Michigan Boot Camp for It Works Global.It was held at a nice hotel and the room was packed with over 400 people!!It was a sea of black and green!There was not a frown in the entire mass of people and the excitement and buzz in the room was contagious! As I sat up front in the VIP section to listen to Dr. Don Verhulst speak about health and nutrition and took notes on tips from Pam Sowder, I couldn’t help but think that I was so very lucky!Sure you might be thinking that I am a little crazy to think I was lucky to be sitting listening to speakers on a Saturday!!??And you might be thinking I felt lucky just to get out of the house away from all of the children, which is partly true, but, how often are you surrounded by people who truly love what they are doing and are excited to keep doing it?How often do you have people come up to you and offer to he…

The other night Ryan and I went out to a dueling piano bar. I love to sing along with the crowd and sometimes dance a step or two! While the two of us sat there, we pointed out different people to each other and watched their actions. Most of them were intoxicated and stumbling over themselves. There were some who were doing a kind of mating dance with just about anything that moved and others that were oblivious to their odd dance moves. (the guy looked like he was shadow boxing and I was frightened for the people around him who may have gotten too close!)

This is the fun of going to bars. We found ourselves guessing what was going to happen next on dance floor between different people. We made up conversations that they may be having and laughed ourselves silly. (I hope this isn't making us sound too pathetic or mean because yes we are lame!) People watching is fun no matter where you go! I know that I am thankful that everyone is an individual and will bring a whole n…

The first weekend we added a fifth child I found out that I was not in fact "Super Mom". I so wanted to be her for maybe only two minutes before I decided that it was utterly rediculous that I was doing all of the work in the house and had five able bodied children that could help out! (plus there is no real reward or recognition for that anyways!)

I set off on a mission to find the best chore system that would work for our family. I have tried charts and stickers and things before, but I can never follow through! I start off strong and then forget to print off a new chart or to pay the workers.

I checked out books and did some searching online. I finally found something I thought I could do. I found some really cute ones here and took my final idea from Confessions of a Homeschooler. I loved that I had most of the material so I wouldn't have to go out and spend a lot of money and she provided me with everything else!

As a teacher, I loved summer vacation! I looked forward to it like you wouldn't believe! We counted down the months, days, and then the hours until we were finally free! It took a few weeks to get used to not having to do anything, but it was a small price to pay for the days that were laid out before me of relaxation and no stress!

That was before I had five children obviously! Things are a bit different now. The children wake up at ungodly hours in the morning only to fight and scream for half of the day! The older boys give me looks of disgust and scoff at my requests to do things other then watch TV every waking moment. We are only two weeks in people!! I have taken out some of the crafts I had hidden for a rainy day and have even gotten out the finger paints! (that is pure desperation!) To survive this summer vacation I am thinking of taking on a new hobby.

I'm sure Mothers do it every where! They can't all be surviving without some help! I am thinking o…

We had a big storm come through last night and a bit today. Having 5 kids in the house for two days is not my idea of sanity!

So when the rain started and the kids wanted to run outside in the down pour I was only too happy to give my blessing!

It's funny how they won't stand in the shower and get their heads wet to wash their hair, but they love to stand in a down pour!

It wasn't until after the down pour, thank goodness, that they asked to dance in the rain naked! (Lola once told my mother in law when it rained Mommy danced on the deck naked - LOL that's an entirely different post!) And no, I did not give in to that request!

Sorry all of you Mom's out there, but I do believe that I am the most deserving of this award based on my performance as a Mom this past week!

I required the children to sit down a read out of an actual book before they could watch any tv, play Wii, or be on the computer! - the horror!I limited their computer time to 2 hours a day. - I am so stunting their development!The internet went down and I did not fix it because the children did not abide by the 2 hour rule. - so cruel!!The rule in the house is no phone calls made or received after 10pm. - come on! kids want to talk or just listen to each other breathe until they fall asleep on the phone! Why is that not ok?Now the rule is no calls made or received for one entire week for disregarding the above rule. - Seriously- how could I be sooo mean!I would not let the children scavenge through the refrigerator 30 minutes before dinner. - they were so starving and probably were about to faint…

That seems to be the question on a lot of people's minds lately concerning our family. That or "Are they nuts?" I guess with adding two new children in such a short time the questions are inevitable.

We are actually licensed to welcome one more child into our home. Legally you can have a total of 6 kids under your roof whether they are biological, adopted, foster, or daycare. (while doing foster care) So one more child would put us at our max.

That doesn't mean we will be adding another one anytime soon, however. It isn't because we don't want to. The reason is simply that we have actually run out of room in our vehicle! There are no more seats left to transport one more child! We don't want to have to take two vehicles everywhere or leave anyone behind!

So unless you see us with a conversion van or a decked out short bus, we are sticking with what we have! (for the time being....)

While helping people lose inches I always encounter those with other serious concerns as well. Fortunately, there is always a natural alternative! For those suffering from Gout I have seen individuals go pain and attack free after taking Vital and Greens! I have recieved testimonies about people being able to get off of their medications after being on the Greens and attacks going away quickly by taking Vital right away! Adding cherry juice and flax seed oil to your diet will also help. Below are some additional dietary considerations as well as information about Gout.

When I woke up the other morning and proceeded to only shave one of my legs and not to notice my oversight for most of the day I thought I either had to go to bed sooner, nap, wake up later, or slow down and pay attention to what I was doing!

Since the first three options are not really options at all, I think I need to pay attention to what I am doing! In the mornings it seems that I am often in a rush and very easily distracted from what I am doing. I have gotten all ready in the morning only to get in the car and discover on my way that I forgot to apply eye make-up to my right eye. That wouldn't be so bad except that the left was all made up! I have been in the shower and have blanked on whether I washed my hair so I have to do it again just to be safe! I have gone through my regular wake up routine and put on my deodorant only to realize on the second arm that I applied it on top of my clothes and not even on my skin!

Today is our 13th Anniversary!
Ryan has survived 6 1/2 years of dating and 13 years of marriage! The man is a saint! (Some days I can barely stand myself, but I don't have a choice in the matter and he does!)

Just in case you were wondering I thought I would share how it is that we came to be the most awesome couple that we are today. lol!! (the cliff notes version that is)

We attended the same church from the time we were little. It wasn't until we were in junior high that we actually remember knowing each other. My parents were youth group leaders and Ryan happened to be the one and only boy in our youth group of super cute girls! Being the smooth guy he was he decided to bring his buddies with him to our events. I suppose they all acted as his wing men!

Ryan will tell you that he didn't like me back then. He thought I was too bossy. Which is probably true! (and that much hasn't really changed - the me being bossy part) My parents were the leaders of the yout…

I am convinced that somehow without my knowledge my children have implanted me with a microchip! (or maybe it was my husband) There is not a place in my house or even outside that my children can not track me down when I don't want to be found!

I have hidden on the deck, in the bathroom, in the basement, and even in the shower just to have a little quiet time, but it never lasts longer then a minute! They could be watching the most awesome movie or shoveling forbidden candy into their sweet little mouths without having talked to me or looked my way for half the day and suddenly when I try to sneak out of the room they make it their mission to find me! I am willing to bet that I could squeeze myself into the dryer or an air duct and they would still be able to find me! I could be inside the neighbor's bathroom or duct taped to the bottom of a car and they would track me down in 2 minutes flat!

However, this only happens when I don't want them to find me. When I want the…

It's fun to be a kid and their fun is often contagious, but sometimes you adults need to draw the line and remember that you are adults and it may be wise to put on your big boy pants...

Lola and Tyce love to play dress up! They like to put on the princess dresses, their brothers' clothes, my shoes, and even adorn themselves with objects like buckets or weeds! When left to their own devices you just never know what they will get into next! I also like to play dress up. (get your mind out of the gutter - that is not where I am heading with this) My dress up is more of the actual dressing up. You know, putting on the fancy dress, the nice jewelry, and the high heels to go out on the town for a rare childless meal and evening. I also enjoy dressing up for Halloween and theme parties. It is fun to do something different once in awhile. There is nothing wrong with that!

I do have to question the adults that I see that actually dress up in the same way that my 3 and 4 year o…

If you would have asked me 5 years ago what I would be doing today, it would not have included this! But of course I wouldn't have said I would be living where I am or have the children I have now either! Wow am I glad that I don't have control of everything because my life wouldn't be half as great as it is! - I don't have that kind of imagination! I got into this business by accident really. My neighbor met a woman on an airplane, Carla Burns, who talked her into hosting a wrap party. I am a huge researcher so when she told me about the wrapI looked it up on the internet and did a bunch of research on the products. Even with my research I went to the party very skeptical mostly because of the wrap. This company was around since 2001 in my hometown and I had never heard of it! If it really worked wouldn't everyone know about it? I went to the party to be polite and paid my $25 for a wrap. It felt good having it on and it was fun chatting with the girls, drin…

I love to sing! I love to make up songs for the kids and belt out lyrics to songs on the radio. I sing in the car, sometimes in the shower, and even sing while I exercise! You would think that since I am an adult and have heard some songs over and over and over again that I would actually know the lyrics by now. Nope! Not true! Sometimes not even close!

I'm sure there are quite a few songs to which I happily belt out a totally different song to! It is funny that a few of them I didn't even know until well into my adulthood! One such song is "Islands in the Stream". So the actual name of the song should have given me a clue that I should not have been singing "I was in the stream" for the chorus! Guess I never took the time to know the title or maybe I thought that was the title! Pour some Sugar on Me has always been sung with a verse about Mt. Soggius (it is supposed to be "Come on sign me up") and my most recent made up lyrics were Gal…

It didn't take long...
The tough teenage stuff has started to trickle it's way into our house.

A came up the stairs on Saturday morning with a giant sparkly earring in his ear. The child had actually pushed the thing through his ear! He was beaming from ear to ear as he showed me. You could almost hear a bubble pop when he saw the look on my face! (which was my "oh this is going to be sad for you" look)

Sorry, mister. Not in this house. Ryan and I knew it was coming eventually so we were prepared. He told us he had pierced his own ear before and when I was shopping with him he stopped to admire diamonds and asked to buy one.

My response;
"First, you can't buy just one earring in a fancy jewelry store. Second, you don't have enough money. Third, your ear is not pierced and will not be for a long time. And finally, if you are going to spend so much money on earrings they are going to be for me!"

Which Way Home shows the personal side of immigration through the eyes of children who face harrowing dangers with enormous courage and resourcefulness as they endeavor to make it to the U.S. The film follows several unaccompanied child migrants as they journey through Mexico en route to the U.S. on a freight train they call "The Beast." These are stories of hope and courage, disappointment and sorrow. They are the ones you never hear about - the invisible ones.When you watch this movie and sit next to a child who can actually tell you his own stories about "The Beast" and what it was like to ride on top of it for 8 days straight, it doesn…

As we had a month earlier, we went to the airport with our welcome sign and a few gifts in hand! We were early and waited for the flight to arrive with our case worker, licensor, the case worker's supervisor, and an interpreter! We were quite the crew!

Unfortunately, we missed W arriving! He walked right past us to the baggage claim and we never saw him! It's no wonder we didn't pick him out of the crowd! He was dressed in a dress shirt, slacks, a tie, and even had a tie clip! Definitely not your normal travel wear for a 17 year old who is also a refugee!

We all had the same excitement and apprehension, however!
Yet again, we are completely blessed! He is a good looking, very mature, kind, put together young man who is polite and helpful! He even calls me "Miss" and Ryan "Sir". (It felt a little strange at first, but now I'm debating whether all of the children should call us that!) He does know…

As I got out of the shower the other morning my three year old triumphantly burst into the room announcing he had gotten himself dressed! He did it all by himself - he repeated that a few times to be sure I understood. I praised him profusely because although his outfit wasn't something I would have picked out for him and his undies were on backwards, he did it on his own. (We left that underwear on that way all day because I didn't want to dampen his spirit!) This only meant one thing for Mommy - less time spent corralling children and less people to dress every morning!

As excited as I was, I was a little sad too. This is my youngest child! He starts preschool in the fall and is growing up too fast! He isn't a baby anymore! As I tried to adjust to this thought I continued to get myself ready for the day. Not 10 minutes later he popped in again.

"Mommy??? I swallowed a penny.""Are you sure you swallowed a penny? Was it in your month?" "…